HONOLULU - The fourth-ranked Marquette men's basketball team had a chance to make history on Wednesday.

The Golden Eagles could have become the first team to beat the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the Associated Press poll on consecutive days. A victory also would have assured MU of being the top team when the next rankings come out on Monday, a perch the program hasn't occupied since Feb. 20, 1978.

But a disjointed performance and the overwhelming size of 7-foot-4 Zach Edey blocked those accomplishments from happening and Purdue earned a 78-75 victory in the championship game of the Maui Invitational at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

"I told the guys in the locker room, there's teams in this field that will play each other in March," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "It might not be us and Purdue, but there's going to be teams in this field that play again and it won't be in the first round of the tournament."

Zach Edey puts Oso Ighodaro into early foul trouble

Edey's impact was felt immediately as MU center Oso Ighodaro, who keyed MU's victory over No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday, picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and had to sit on the bench for most of the first half.

"It's tough to get in a rhythm," MU guard Tyler Kolek said of the different lineup combinations MU used in the first half. "Our offense isn't the thing that suffers, it's honestly our defense.

"You can't really get into a defensive flow when you're fouling every time. You can't really figure out the game if it's whistle, whistle, whistle. It's tough to guard (Edey), he's big, he pins you down on the block. It's hard not to foul."

BOX SCORE: Purdue 78, Marquette 75

Smart tried several defenders on Edey, and backup center Ben Gold also picked up two fouls in the first half.

"I think the foul trouble in the first half really took away from our violence of action," Smart said. "That's how we play. It's a great lesson for us early in the year, November 22nd, that regardless of circumstances, we have to play our way."

Purdue also sank 7 of 9 three-point attempts in the first half.

"I watched them play someone before we got down here, and I said, 'That's the best team in the country,' " Smart said. "Again, because of the combination of those two things.

"You've got the most dominant force around the basket, and then you got guys cutting and moving and passing and making shots. So as a defensive team, you have to make them miss, and then sometimes you have to have good fortune that they miss even open ones."

MU looked like it would go into the locker room facing a nine-point deficit after guard Tyler Kolek sank two free throws with two seconds left.

But Purdue's Lance Jones took the inbound pass, and threw up a prayer from about 80 feet away.

It was answered when the ball rattled in to give the Boilermakers a 45-33 advantage.

"I thought Purdue, man, they made some tough shots in timely moments, including the three-quarter court shot," Smart said. "You know, that counts for three, too."

Edey had 13 points and six rebounds at the break.

Tyler Kolek and Marquette can't get over the hump in the second half

The Golden Eagles were staggered back again early in the second half and fell behind, 53-38.

But their defense locked in and the Boilermakers' lead slowly dwindled. In the first half, Edey often had mismatches when MU's much smaller guards switched onto him.

"We weren't trying to switch," Kolek said. "We call that square coverage – so the guard's trying to fight over the screen.

"If he gets cracked on the ball screen, then the big has to bounce. But in the first half we weren't doing a very good job fighting over the ball screen. Getting up into the ball and fighting over. We were just settling for the switch. In the second half we did a much better job getting over the screens and keeping our bigs on their bigs."

MU finally got within 76-75 with 53 seconds left when Ighodaro knocked in a jump hook.

The Golden Eagles then forced a miss from Braden Smith, but Edey tapped in the offensive rebound. Edey finished with 28 points and 15 boards.

Kolek, who scored a team-high 22 points, pushed the ball up the floor, but missed a good look at a three-pointer with 10 seconds left.

The door was left open for MU. Purdue's Mason Gillis and Edey both missed the front end of one-and-one free throws, but Kam Jones missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

"The first shot, for myself, I'd like to get to the basket," Kolek said. "There's enough time, maybe 15 seconds left, you can get a layup on that.

"Then go down and play. They missed free throws. They missed both of them... so you go down and hit a layup, those free throws are hard to make. There's a lot of pressure on them. It's not the same as with 18 minutes left on the game clock.

"So get in the paint, then it's a one-point game. They miss a free throw. Two threes ... maybe those looks we wanted. So kind of getting my team organized at the end of the game is something I'll definitely look back on in the film session."

Maui Invitational was a historic field

Loyola (Chicago) was the last team to play the top two teams in the AP poll on back-to-back days during the 1971-72 season. But the Ramblers lost to No. 1 UCLA on Jan. 28 and then fell to second-ranked MU the next day.

This season's Maui Invitational was so loaded with top teams that seventh-ranked Tennessee also got the chance. The Volunteers lost to Purdue in the semifinals and Kansas in the third-place game.

MU didn't finish the job of beating Nos. 1 and 2. Instead, Purdue will ascend to No. 1 next week.

But the Golden Eagles had some valuable tests early in the season.

"It's November 22nd," Smart said. "I can't think of any championships, national championships or conference championships, that were won in November.

"Now, they just won the Maui Invitational championship and that's significant. But for us, man, I mean, we won two games against very, very impressive programs. We were toe-to-toe with Purdue today, who I'm sure will be No. 1 in the country next time the poll comes out. But we got a lot of improving to do."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No. 4 Marquette basketball falls to No. 2 Purdue in Maui Invitational